Author Archives: Tend&Grow

Evergreen and frequently seen, a stand alone specimen is nice but I appreciate it more when it is grown amongst other contrasting foliage. Magnificent as new leaves set in early summer.

Pulmanaria officinalis is a good example of a plant with many common names. The RHS lists them as (and there are probably more): Bedlam cowslipBeggar’s basketBugloss cowslip Jerusalem cowslip Lady’s cowslip Mary’s honeysuckle Mary’s tears Soldiers and sailors Spotted dog Virgin Mary’s honeysuckle Adam and Eve Jerusalem sage Lady’s milk Sage of Bethlehem So you see it was inevitable that someone (I.e. Carl Linnaeus 1707-1778) wouldContinue reading “Pulmanaria officinalis”

Discovered in 1994, in a remote gorge in Wollemi National Park, Wollemia nobilis is one of the world’s most ancient and rarest trees, representing the only remaining member of a prehistoric genus, and is often described as a ‘living fossil’. Its population comprises approximately 80 mature individuals and about 300 seedlings, found at three sites across theContinue reading “Wollemia nobilis /Wollemi pine”

A technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Dr. Akira Miyawaki in which thousands of seedlings of native tree species are grown closely together in a prescribed area. This density of planting forces growth upward and speeds up the natural process of succession (bare ground to native woodland) that would otherwise take many years. Dr. Miyawaki wonContinue reading “Miyawaki forest/Tree planting”

Perhaps more recognisable in autumn by it’s flat, round, translucent papery ‘silver dollar’ seed pods than by its flowers and foliage in spring. A confident self seeder, not native but trying to naturalise. There are some cultivated forms, one with a variegated leaf and a white form too. As a member of Brassicaceae could beContinue reading “Lunaria annua/Honesty”

‘I always had a strong feeling that I could do something different than I knew, that was solved when I met plants.’ Piet Oudolf You have to rent it from the website. Piet comes across as philosophical and passionately committed in a stoic and insightful way to the move away from traditional planting that heContinue reading “Five Seasons The Gardens of Piet Oudolf – A film by Thomas Piper”

A momentous occasion in the life of Agave montana, and agaves in general, as the flower scape begins to swell and grow. Each plant flowers only once, its life a preparation for this moment, for once flowered the rosette dies and the cycle hopefully begins again from seed or bulbils. Some Agaves make pups orContinue reading “Agave montana/Mountain Agave”

With an evergreen backdrop these two potted Japanese maples, Acer palmatum (unknown cultivars) are displayed to best advantage, the fresh spring leaf suspended in cloud formation contrasting with dense shadowy greenery, and the heavy texture of larger leaves behind. They demand attention as if to command that you sit in contemplative appreciation before them. InContinue reading “Maples in context”

April is a great time for Euphorbia characias wulfenii and here is an exemplary specimen.

Of the many hundreds of Acer palmatum cultivars here are just four, pictured as the first leaves of spring open out and before the cuticle has formed, the leaves temporarily vulnerable to environmental stresses, but arguably at their most exquisite and delicate stage.